The Grid, designed by Trung Mai / Ad hoc Practice, is an adaptive reuse project situated within the former Gia Lam Train Factory in Hanoi. Presented at the Venice Biennale 2025, curated by Carlo Ratti, the intervention reinterprets the site’s industrial remnants into an exhibition space, framing the existing structure as a repository of spatial and cultural memory. Rather than introducing new architectural elements, The Grid exposes the site’s latent formal logic, treating it as a spatial archive. This approach aligns with the principles of behavioral archaeology, wherein the built environment is studied through the material traces of human activity. The design strategy emphasizes recontextualization, both conceptually and materially, positioning reuse as a form of dynamic preservation that engages with contemporary questions of urban development and memory.

all images by Trieu Chien

Ad hoc Practice Reimagines Gia Lam Factory’s Layered History

Hanoi’s ongoing urban expansion has led to the relocation and decommissioning of several socialist-era factories, placing their architectural and cultural legacies at risk. The Gia Lam Train Factory, formerly a mechanical hub at a key railway junction, has become emblematic of this transitional condition. The structure’s layered past, which spans colonial, wartime, and reformist periods, provides the backdrop for a design inquiry into Vietnam’s industrial narrative. The exhibition space within the factory is conceived as both an archaeological site and a testing ground for new forms of spatial engagement. By occupying part of the abandoned structure, The Grid reflects on the site’s transformation from production facility to cultural artifact. Through systematic reconstruction, the project, developed by architects at Ad hoc Practice, led by Trung Mai, frames the factory not only as a container of industrial materials but also as a repository of memory, labor, and ideology.

The grid-based design draws from two key references: the 19th-century urban planning principles of Ildefons Cerdà’s Eixample district in Barcelona, and the internal ceiling structure of the warehouse itself, a product of mid-20th-century engineering. This dual reference reinforces themes of order, equality, and modularity, principles foundational to Vietnam’s post-war industrialization. Sunlight filtering through the original ceiling panels creates dynamic light conditions across the exhibited objects and architectural fragments. This quality of light reinforces the project’s temporal focus and enhances the spatial reading of the factory’s preserved form.

The Grid reactivates the abandoned Gia Lam Train Factory through adaptive reuse

Collective Memory Transforms the Factory’s Spatial Future

Structurally, the project maintains and adapts the existing building framework. The design incorporates participatory construction methods, including collaborations with students and community members, to explore alternative futures for the site. The exhibition encourages dialogue on retrofitting strategies, slow construction, and site-responsive design, offering a critical perspective on contemporary development practices that prioritize rapid turnover and high-density production.

The Grid by Trung Mai / Ad hoc Practice positions adaptive reuse as a method of cultural inquiry. By transforming the factory into a site for reflection and experimentation, the project engages with Vietnam’s urban condition while foregrounding the role of collective memory in shaping spatial futures.

latent architectural forms are revealed rather than replaced

traces of Vietnam’s industrial legacy become spatial anchors within the former factory

The Grid treats the site as a spatial archive of cultural memory

the former mechanical hub now becomes a platform for cultural reflection

layers of history, from colonial to post-reform, inform the spatial logic of the intervention

exhibited fragments and artifacts reflect labor, ideology, and material memory

order and modularity frame the project’s formal and conceptual structure

the intervention avoids spectacle, focusing instead on subtle spatial reactivation

the space operates as both exhibition and research platform

architecture becomes a tool for reading and writing the city’s industrial past

retrofitting strategies are tested on site, advocating for slow, responsive design

the preserved ceiling structure acts as a light modulator across the space

the factory is reframed as a living document of urban transformation

project info:

name: The Grid
architect: Ad hoc Practice – Ha noi Ad hoc | @hanoiadhoc_adhocpractice

lead architect and curator: Trung Mai 

design team: Viet Phung, Trang Pham, Duong Nguyen, Ha Hoang, Lauren Lu, Ngoc Nguyen, Linh Tang

guest artists: Vy Trịnh, Jennifer Vanderpool
location: Hanoi, Vietnam

photographer: Trieu Chien | @trieuchien

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom

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The seventh edition of Time Space Existence, the biennial architecture exhibition organized by the European Cultural Centre (ECC), returns to Venice through 23 November 2025. Spread across three historic venues — Palazzo Mora, Palazzo Bembo, and the Marinaressa Gardens — the show brings together 207 participants from over 52 countries, reaffirming its role as a global platform for architectural dialogue and experimentation. This year’s theme, Repair, Regenerate, Reuse, invites architects, designers, artists, and researchers to respond with works that span speculative proposals, academic research, and built interventions. Highlights include a net-zero housing prototype by HOLCIM and ELEMENTAL, and Sombra, a kinetic, light-responsive pavilion by MVRDV, both installed at Marinaressa Gardens. Notable contributions also come from Zaha Hadid Architects, Adjaye Associates, Korean architect Moon Hoon, and many more. 

Elemental and Holcim Basic Services Unit installation view at Marinaressa Gardens | all images © Celestia Studio

REPAIR, REGENERATE, REUSE

This year’s exhibition invites tangible responses to climate and social crises. Instead of posing hypothetical questions, participants present real-world solutions: architecture studio Vuild addresses rural decline in Japan using local forestry and digital fabrication, while Semillas empowers Amazonian communities through participatory architecture. Canadian firm Blouin Orzes blends traditional Inuit knowledge with modern techniques to respond to harsh northern climates.

The exhibition also includes speculative futures: Collectif Carré Noir imagines a utopian territorial reorganization, and Delft University showcases Indigenous-led design methodologies through film. These works question architecture’s conventional limits, embracing regeneration and equity as central design imperatives.

Semillas installation view at Palazzo Mora

HIGHLIGHTS across venetian venues

The Marinaressa Gardens become a laboratory of environmental dialogue. HOLCIM and Alejandro Aravena’s ELEMENTAL unveil a scalable housing prototype using low-carbon materials. MVRDV’s Sombra, a kinetic installation responsive to sun and shade, explores architecture’s adaptive potential. Meanwhile, Virginia Tech and Cloud 9’s PolliNATION pavilion reintroduces pollinators to the Venetian lagoon, turning ecological restoration into spatial form.

Meanwhile, across venues, many projects foreground material reuse, vernacular methods, and local identity. Coburg University constructs a pavilion from regional ‘waste timber’; GRAS and Huguet experiment with terrazzo made from recycled fragments. Zaha Hadid Architects and University of Calgary explore modular systems designed for disassembly and reuse, advancing circular construction logic.

Others engage history and place: Materia (Mexico) reimagines cultural heritage buildings in harmony with the landscape, while A Interiors blends desert tradition with contemporary living in Riyadh. María Isabel Paz preserves endangered textile techniques through urban storytelling in handmade rugs.

MVRDV, Airshade Technologies, Metadecor, Alumet, ARUP, Van Rossum Engineering, AMOLF Institute SOMBRA installation view at Marinaressa Gardens

A LIVING LAB FOR FUTURE ARCHITECTURE

With projects ranging from activist landscapes to modular prototypes and speculative utopias, Time Space Existence 2025 offers a cross-section of how architecture can regenerate rather than extract, reconnect rather than divide. As ECC’s Rachele De Stefano notes, the exhibition doesn’t just ask what architecture is, but what it could become — a driver of systemic change rooted in repair, resilience, and responsibility.

Enter Projects Asia Interwoven, 2025 installation view at Marinaressa Gardens

Juan José Castellón xmade Rice University Impluvium Redux installation view at Palazzo Mora

Moon Hoon installation view at Palazzo Bembo

Virginia Tech and Cloud 9 unEarthed Second Nature PolliNATION, 2025 installation view at Marinaressa Gardens

Coral Gallery – Roberto Vivo The Human Tribe Totem, 2024 installation view at Marinaressa Gardens

Henriquez Partners Architects Symplasma, 2025 installation view at Palazzo Bembo

Adjaye Associates International Children’s Cancer Research Centre, 2025 installation view at Palazzo Bembo

Pfeifer Jones Architecture Organ Drone Dome, 2025 installation view at Palazzo Mora

Pfeifer Jones Architecture Organ Drone Dome, 2025 installation view at Palazzo Mora

project info: 

name: Time Space Existence 2025
organized by: European Cultural Centre (ECC) | @ecc_italy
location: Palazzo Mora, Palazzo Bembo, Marinaressa Gardens in Venice, Italy 
dates: 10 May – 23 November 2025

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At ETH Zurich, scientists develop a building material that is alive and store carbon dioxide from air using growing bacteria and hydrogel. The research has already been applied to the 3D printed biostructures inside the Canada Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 as well as in Dafne’s Skin at the 24th International Exhibition in Triennale Milano. The team’s goal is to make living materials that can be used for construction and to capture and store carbon dioxide from air using photosynthesis. To achieve this, they combine active cyanobacteria with hydrogel, and as a result, they can shape it using a 3D printer. 

The living material, then, grows, and as it does, removes the carbon dioxide from the air. The scientists add that the material only needs sunlight, a kind of artificial seawater with nutrients, and carbon dioxide to survive, and because of this, they believe it can be used in architecture to store carbon, which in turn can help fight climate change. The building material that stores carbon can also cause minerals to form with a chemical reaction that happens during photosynthesis. These solid minerals trap the carbon dioxide in a more stable way than biomass does.

all images courtesy of ETH Zurich; photos by Yifan Cui and Dalia Dranseike, unless stated otherwise

cyanobacteria is able to form and build up minerals

A reason that the building material that stores carbon dioxide is possible to use for architecture is because as the cyanobacteria is able to form and build up the minerals inside the living object, it becomes harder and stronger eventually, and the structure becomes solid over time. In the published study, the scientists document their laboratory tests where they discovered that the building material kept absorbing carbon dioxide for over 400 days, or more than a year. Then, most of the captured carbon was stored as solid minerals inside the material. 

The scientists have also used hydrogel as the base to mix cyanobacteria with because it is light enough to allow nutrients, and even carbon dioxide, to pass through it and spread out within it evenly. The team turns to 3D printing to shape the building material that stores carbon dioxide, and they’ve also created tailored shapes that allow the light to come inside the object so the nutrients can spread inside and bacteria can stay active for more than a year inside the material. For the scientists, this is a low-energy, eco-friendly way to capture carbon dioxide from the air.

view of a 3D printed lattice structure using cyanobacteria in hydrogel

Projects where the living material is applied to

Some projects have already started applying the building material that stores carbon dioxide to their works. The first is in Picoplanktonics, which is an exhibition of 3D printed biostructures inside the Canada Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025. Led by Andrea Shin Ling, a doctoral student at ETH Zurich and lead designer of the Living Room Collective, the project uses cyanobacteria on a large scale to capture and store carbon dioxide from the air. It is an example of how the bacteria hardens the structure enough to be used in architecture and construction.

The second is at the 24th International Exhibition at Triennale Milano through an installation called Dafne’s Skin. A collaboration between MAEID Studio and Dalia Dranseike, it is part of a larger exhibition called We the Bacteria: Notes Toward Biotic Architecture, which looks at how living things can be used in architectural design. The structure is covered with wooden shingles where microorganisms are growing on the wood, creating a green layer over time. This green layer, called a patina, is usually a sign of aging or decay, but here it’s part of the design, changing the look of the wood while absorbing carbon dioxide from the air over time.

3D-printed pineapple with cyanobacteria growing inside after a development period of 60 days

3D printed cup that can trap carbon dioxide from air

detailed view of Dafne’s Skin at Triennale Milano

living patina on wood (II): Microbial texture (visualisation, generated with AI) | image by Lorem / Luca Pagan

Picoplanktonics in Canada Pavilion at Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 | photo by Valentina Mori | read here

the project uses cyanobacteria on a large scale to capture and store carbon dioxide

project info:

name: Dual carbon sequestration with photosynthetic living materials

institutions: ETH Zurich, University of Wyoming | @ethzurich, @uofwyoming

scientists: Dalia Dranseike, Yifan Cui, Andrea S. Ling, Felix Donat, Stéphane Bernhard, Margherita Bernero, Akhil Areeckal, Marco Lazic, Xiao-Hua Qin, John S. Oakey, Benjamin Dillenburger, André R. Studart, Mark W. Tibbitt

study: here

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At the 19th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice, MAD presents Chinese Paper Umbrella, an outdoor installation at the China Pavilion that reflects the theme ‘Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective.’ The soft, splaying structure brings the delicate form of the traditional Chinese oil paper umbrella to architectural scale, transforming it into a performative pavilion that offers rest and shelter.

The work situates itself between ancient knowledge and contemporary experimentation. It provides a microclimate within the gardens of the China Pavilion, and a demonstration of how traditional materials can evolve when paired with environmental sensing and adaptive design strategies. In this way, the installation demonstrates MAD’s interest in the emotional and experiential qualities of space, and its broader efforts to humanize technological systems through architecture.

The project remains on view at the China Pavilion through November 23rd, 2025, as part of the Venice Architecture Biennale.

images courtesy MAD

ancient chinese craft arrives in venice

Positioned in the garden near the terminus of the Arsenale exhibition route, MAD’s Chinese Paper Umbrella is at once a sculptural intervention and a space for pause. The umbrella is constructed with Xuan paper — an absorbent, fibrous material traditionally used for calligraphy — treated with multiple layers of tung oil. This process renders it both water-resistant and translucent, enabling it to withstand the maritime conditions of Venice while filtering light in ever-changing ways.

Visitors stepping beneath the Beijing-based architects‘ canopy encounter a shift in atmosphere from the Biennale beyond. Light is softened, shadows stretch and contract with the time of day, and the sensation of temperature alters as air circulates through the permeable seams of the paper. The structure’s scale retains an intimacy, inviting individuals to linger, reflect, or simply observe the rhythms of weather and daylight as they pass through the space.

the project is installed in the garden of the China Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale

a paper umbrella with Responsive Technology

Beyond its material craftsmanship, MAD incorporates contemporary environmental technologies into its Chinese Paper Umbrella. A misting system embedded at the apex of the umbrella activates in response to high temperatures, cooling the shaded area beneath and subtly amplifying the sensory qualities of the space. The integration of OPPLE Lighting’s Smart Dynamic Light (SDL) system allows the canopy to adjust to changes in light and weather. This dynamic interplay between natural and artificial systems highlights the structure’s sensitivity to its environment.

The paper surface, though treated for durability, is designed to change with time. As sun, moisture, and wind weather the material, the umbrella will gradually yellow and soften. This slow transformation is not concealed, but rather embraced as part of the design. MAD’s intention is to foreground impermanence not as decay, but as a condition of coexistence with the natural world.

MAD draws from traditional Chinese oil paper umbrellas, scaled to create a public shelter

Xuan paper is coated with tung oil to produce a durable and translucent surface

smart lighting responds to environmental changes using OPPLE’s dynamic light technology

the umbrella structure breathes through its seams while maintaining shade and shelter

a misting system cools the air in response to high temperatures during dry weather

the pavilion creates a gentle shift in light, air, and temperature for visitors below

project info:

name: Chinese Paper Umbrella

architect: MAD | @madarchitects

event: 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale Di Venezia

location: Arsenale – Magazzino Delle Cisterne, Castello 2169/F, 30122 Venice, Italy

on view: May 10th — November 23rd, 2025

photography: courtesy MAD

design team: Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, Yosuke Hayano, Jiang Yunyao, Zhou Rui, Yang Xuebing, He Linxi, Huang Juntao, Pan Siyi, Valentina Olivieri
lighting partner: OPPLE Lighting
structural consultant: RFR Shanghai
fabrication: Far East Façade

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Living Room Collective uses live cyanobacteria within 3D printed biostructures to capture carbon dioxide from air in the Canada Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025. Named Picoplanktonics, the exhibition commissioned by The Canada Council for the Arts is on view from May 10th to November 26th, 2025. designboom speaks with Living Room Collective’s lead and biodesigner Andrea Shin Ling about the project. In our interview, she says that architecture often uses the term ‘regenerative design’ when referring to circular or upcycled material systems. ‘In Picoplanktonics, we are talking about the biological definition of regeneration, which means the literal ability to regenerate or renew from damaged or dead parts,’ she tells designboom.

The research team has merged two ancient metabolic processes for Picoplanktonics: photosynthesis and biocementation. For the former, they turn to cyanobacteria, one of the oldest groups of bacterial organisms on the planet. ‘Cyanobacteria are among the first photosynthetic organisms and are believed to be responsible for the Great Oxygenation Event, where 2.4 billion years ago, the atmosphere transformed from a high CO2 environment to a high O2 environment because of photosynthesis,’ Andrea Shin Ling explains. They can also produce biocementation, or the process of capturing carbon dioxide from air and turning it into solid minerals, like carbonates. Because of this, the resulting minerals act like ‘cement’ and can store the carbon permanently, keeping it out of the atmosphere.

all images courtesy of The Living Room Collective | photos by Valentina Mori, unless stated otherwise

Infusing the bacteria during the printing stage

Before bringing them to Venice, Andrea Shin Ling and the Living Room Collective fabricated the 3D printed biostructures at ETH Zürich’s laboratory. The biodesigner shares with us that when they make these structures, they already infuse the living cyanobacteria during the printing stage instead of later on. Then, they need to let the bacteria grow and take care of them so they can grow. This means they have to provide enough light, warmth, and humidity so that they can proliferate and slowly harden the prints.

‘The idea is that the bacteria cooperate in a human-initiated fabrication process and, with our care, can continue and finish that process (in this case, hardening the printed structures they live in),’ says Andrea Shin Ling. She adds that for the 3D printed biostructure with live cyanobacteria in Venice, favorable conditions mean warm sunlight, high humidity, and access to salt water. ‘These are conditions that are common in Venice and achievable in the Canada Pavilion, which informed our design process,’ the biodesigner explains to designboom.

Living Room Collective uses live cyanobacteria within 3D printed biostructures to capture carbon dioxide from air

Microorganisms that can repair themselves to a healthy state

In Picoplanktonics, the Living Room Collective works with bacteria as the living component of their material system. It has the ability to grow and die within the 3D printed biostructures, as shown in Venice, and the colony can restore itself under favorable conditions after periods of decline. Andrea Shin Ling says, however, that the process isn’t necessarily consistent since it depends on the environmental conditions at a particular point in time.

‘So, for instance, a bioprint might dry out if the air is too dry that week, and many of the bacteria die. But because the system is regenerative, the bacteria population has the potential to restore itself when favorable conditions return and then continue their carbon sequestration work,’ she shares with designboom.

these biostructures are inside the Canada Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025

During their research process, the group has also had samples where the bacteria have gotten ‘sick’, worn out, or where they looked like they were over-oxidized. With some care, the live cyanobacteria were able to repair themselves back to a healthy state. This is what Andrea Shin Ling means when she describes regenerative design. It looks more into the potential of biological material systems that are dynamic and restorative.

‘But their responsivity can also create situations that we don’t want. So much of the project is then trying to understand what is causing these situations and monitoring conditions so that we can respond accordingly,’ the biodesigner adds. Visitors to the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 can see the research process and progress of Picoplanktonics firsthand inside the Canada Pavilion. It remains on-site from May 10th to November 26th, 2025.

the research group takes care of the bacteria throughout the exhibition to maintain their healthy state

the bacteria need warm sunlight, high humidity, and access to salt water to thrive

the research group already infuses the living cyanobacteria during the printing stage | image © designboom

the bacteria harden the printed structures they live in | image © designboom

the research team has used ancient metabolic processes for Picoplanktonics | image © designboom

the cyanobacteria can also produce biocementation, or the process of capturing carbon dioxide from air

Living Room Collective’s lead And biodesigner Andrea Shin Ling

the exhibition is on view until November 26th, 2025

project info:

name: Picoplanktonics | @picoplanktonics

group: The Living Room Collective

team: Andrea Shin Ling Nicholas Hoban, Vincent Hui, Clayton Lee

commission by: The Canada Council for the Arts | @canada.council

event: Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 | @labiennale

location: Calle Giazzo, 30122 Venice, Italy

dates: May 10th to November 26th, 2025

research and development: Andrea Shin Ling, Yo-Cheng Jerry Lee, Nijat Mahamaliyev, Hamid Peiro, Dalia Dranseike, Yifan Cui, Pok Yin Victor Leung, Barrak Darweesh

photography: Valentina Mori | @_valentinamori_

production

eth zurich: Huang Su, Wenqian Yang, Che-Wei Lin, Sukhdevsinh Parmar; Tobias Hartmann, Michael Lyrenmann, Luca Petrus, Jonathan Leu, Philippe Fleischmann, Oliver Zgraggen, Paul Fischlin, Mario Hebing, Franklin Füchslin; Hao Wu, Nicola Piccioli-Cappelli, Roberto Innocenti, Sigurd Rinde, Börte Emiroglu, Stéphane Bernhard, Carlo Pasini, Apoorv Singh, Paul Jaeggi; Mario Guala, Isabella Longoni;

toronto metropolitan university: Venessa Chan, Minh Ton, Daniel Wolinski, Marko Jovanovic, Santino D’Angelo Rozas, Rachel Kim, Alexandra Waxman, Richard McCulloch, Stephen Waldman, Tina Smith, Andrea Skyers, Randy Ragan, Emma Grant, Shira Gellman, Mariska Espinet, Suzanne Porter, Stacey Park, Amanda Wood, Lisa Landrum, Dorothy Johns, Cedric Ortiz

university of toronto: Daniel Lewycky, Philipp Cop

visualisation: Adrian Yu, Nazanin Kazemi, Ariel Weiss

structural advisors: Andrea Menardo, Kam-Ming Mark Tam

graphic design: Shannon Lin

website: Sigurd Rinde, Shannon Lin

local project logistics: Tamara Andruszkiewicz

project advisors: ETH Zurich, Benjamin Dillenburger, Mark Tibbitt

support: Canada Council, Digital Building Technologies, Institute of Technology & Architecture, D-ARCH, ETH Zurich, Department of Architectural Science, Toronto Metropolitan University, John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, University of Toronto, Royal Architectural Institute of Canada; Advanced Engineering with Living Materials (ALIVE) Initiative, ETH Zurich; Additive Tectonics GmbH; ABB Switzerland; Vestacon Limited and NEUF Architect(e)s

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Part of the Korean Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Biennale, Time for Trees by Heechan Park + Studio Heech presents a series of spatial installations and sensing devices marking the pavilion’s 30th anniversary. The project explores the evolving relationship between the architecture of the Korean Pavilion and the surrounding trees within the Giardini della Biennale, framing this interaction through visual, auditory, and spatial means.

The installations, ‘A Shadow Caster,’ ‘Giardini Travelers,’ and ‘Elevated Gaze 1995,’ operate as observation tools, offering a framework to perceive how the pavilion coexists with its natural surroundings over time. Emphasizing the pavilion’s original integration into the site without displacing any trees, the project highlights the long-term coexistence of built form and landscape. Rather than treating architecture as separate from nature, the installation acknowledges both as equal components in the spatial composition of the Giardini. Developed through collaborations with various Korean workshops, the work reflects on the logistics and implications of constructing international exhibitions. It also addresses the broader conditions of biennale production, positioning the project as both site-responsive and globally connected. Unlike the closed typology of white cube exhibition spaces, the Korean Pavilion remains visually and spatially open to its surroundings. The installations within are designed to interact with environmental conditions such as light, shadow, and sound, reinforcing the role of time and place in the experience of architecture.

Time for Trees celebrates the Korean Pavilion’s 30 years | all images by Yongjoon Choi unless stated otherwise

Time for Trees showcases three site-specific spatial installations

‘A Shadow Caster’ is a site-specific spatial installation that allows visitors to read and experience the shadows cast by the trees around the Korean Pavilion. The work captures the patterns, shades, and subtle movements of the surrounding Giardini environment, evolving with time, seasons, and changing climate conditions. Visitors experience the relationship that the Korean Pavilion has with the vegetal and topographic conditions

Created by Studio Heech’s team in collaboration with a woodworking shop and a metal workshop in Seoul, the ‘Giardini Travelers’ are structural and modular architectural devices created for site-specific events and rituals at the Venice Biennale. Moving through various national pavilions of Giardini, they explore and celebrate the rich and intriguing histories connected to the surrounding trees and natural environment. These adaptable modular trusses can function as an observation deck, ladder, bench, seating area for visitors, stage for special events, or a setting for temporary exhibitions. In particular, in this exhibition, they are used as a ladder and bench, allowing visitors to experience the stories created through relationships with the surrounding trees. ‘Giardini Travelers’ remains an ‘artwork’ that, even in the 21st century, must be created on the other side of the globe and embark on a long journey to Venice. It serves as both a ritualistic tribute and a critical inquiry into the efforts and dedication of those who create national pavilions every year, as well as the long-standing history and traditions of the Biennale.

‘Elevated Gaze 1995’ is inspired by the quote ‘free independence of the human gaze, tied to the human face by a cord so loose, so long, so elastic that it can stray, alone, as far as it may choose,’ from Marcel Proust’s ‘In Search of Lost Time, Swann’s Way.’ In this passage, the human gaze moves freely and independently, experiencing its surroundings. Through this piece, visitors transcend the limits of their own gaze, rising higher to take in the landscape of the Giardini and the sounds of trees and forests. The long-standing story created by the equal symbiosis of architecture and trees in the Giardini is reinterpreted and shared with visitors through ‘Elevated Gaze 1995.’ The exhibition’s title, ‘Time for Trees,’ draws from Sufi Boise’s essay of the same title in Architectural Review (April 2023).

the project explores the relationship between architecture and surrounding trees in the Giardini

three key installations frame the dialogue between built form and landscape

‘A Shadow Caster’ captures the movement and seasonal changes of tree shadows

visitors engage with environmental patterns created by nearby trees

light and shadow define a shifting spatial experience around the pavilion

the human gaze moves freely and independently, experiencing its surroundings

each installation interacts with sound, light, and time to frame natural processes

the project acknowledges the equal presence of nature and structure in the Giardini

‘Giardini Travelers’ are modular structures built for observation and interaction

project info:

name: Time for Trees
architect: Heechan Park – Studio Heech | @studioheech

venue: Korean Pavilion, Giardini, Venice

dates: May 10th – November 23th, 2025

digital interaction collaborator: Yoosuk Kim (RGB lab)

fabrication coordinator: Il Park (Design Lab)

technical advisor: Junhyuk Park, Junghoon Kim (Archi Terre)

fabricator: KD-Art, Catharsis, RGB lab

project assistant: Yurim Kim (Studio Heech)

photographer: Yongjoon Choi, Yongbaek Lee

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom

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MVRDV’s Winy Maas sits down with designboom to discuss the making of the kinetic Sombra Pavilion and the 3D printed Biotopia installation at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025. Before the exhibition’s public opening on May 9th 2025, the Dutch architect, and the M of MVRDV together with Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries, explained the making and thinking behind the SOMBRA pavilion and the Biotopia installation. ‘It’s nice that the pavilion is not solar. In this case, it’s only the air pressure. What we use is our knowledge of the sun. We work a lot on shadow and light, and create and research complex solar programs. For Biotopia, I imagine a fully recyclable, biological world that combines all the properties we need: energy, oxygen, animals, shelter, light, flexibility, and changeability,’ the architect tells designboom during the interview.

One project uses physics to create shade without electricity, while the other imagines a future where buildings grow like living organisms. The SOMBRA pavilion – designed by a team led by MVRDV founding partner Jacob van Rijs – is at the European Cultural Centre’s Giardini Marinaressa, part of the Time Space Existence show. The Biotopia installation is at the Arsenale, part of the main exhibition curated by Carlo Ratti. Both of them are on view until November 2025. For the pavilion, built in collaboration with with Metadecor, Airshade, and Alumet, the structure turns reused beams into large arches, supported by metal ribs. This frame holds triangular panels fitted with perforated metal screens. The pavilion operates without electricity or motors. It relies on physics: when direct sunlight heats small air canisters located within the structure’s ribs, the air pressure inside increases. This pressure inflates small airbags attached to the panels. As an airbag inflates, it contracts, pulling its corresponding panel closed to create shade. When the sun moves and the canisters cool, the pressure decreases, and the panels reopen.

portrait of Winy Maas | image © designboom

Progress to building a biotopic world

Heading to the Arsenale of the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025, Winy Maas and his think tank The Why Factory collaborate with visual artist Federico Díaz to sculpt and present BIOTOPIA. The installation is in two parts. First, the 3D printed sculpture made of polymer. The second is an accompanying film documenting the Dutch architect’s research and how he imagines biotopia will be, which brims with self-sustaining systems. The kind of future here makes biology the foundation for all design. It reimagines cities as forests and architecture as something that grows like a tree. The core concept is a global Sponge, or a type of dynamic biomatter architecture. This Sponge would perform functions like cooling the air, filtering water, and generating energy, all while adapting like a living thing.

The sculptural installation with Federico Díaz, called Propagative Structures, gives physical form to the idea of living matter, of architecture built from living organisms. The work emerges from research into biomimicry, or a field of design that takes inspiration from natural systems. The installation’s forms draw on the structure of mangrove root networks, a suggestion of a future where habitats are not built but cultivated like plants. In our interview with the architect, Winy Maas discusses the future of urbanism, our progress to a biotopic world, the use of computational designs and algorithms in architecture, and what lies ahead for MVRDV, to name a few.

all images courtesy of MVRDV | photos by Federico Vespignani, unless stated otherwise

Interview with Winy MaAs at Venice Architecture Biennale 2025

Designboom (DB): It’s wonderful to see you here in Venice, Winy. We saw the Sombra Pavilion in the garden on our way here. We also read that it’s kinetic?

Winy Maas (WM): It’s a kinetic structure, yes. It doesn’t need energy. Air pressure is generated by a heat difference within the structure itself. That helps to close or open panels, cooling the building at certain corners or not. That, of course, depends on the sun. It’s good to see it in the afternoon too because they placed it next to a tree, so it stands out. The film will be made in the coming months, so we can see the functioning of this air-driven structure. It’s nice that it’s not solar. In this case, it’s only the air pressure. 

What we use is our knowledge of the sun. We work a lot on shadow and light. We create and research complex solar programs. After that, we can start working on the solar panel industry. Sun Rock, for example, which is our project in Taipei for the Taipower Electricity company, is a building covered with solar panels. It’s an example of how we use the sun. It’s a nice project too, and I love it. 

the project uses physics to create shade without electricity

DB: So, the Sombra Pavilion is one project of MVRDV here at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025. In the Arsenale, you have another titled Biotopia under The Why Factory, which is the think tank and research institute that you lead. Here, it comes in two parts. The first a 3D printed model with the visual artist Federico Diaz that explores the idea of living matter in continuous transformation. The other is a movie that documents and visualizes this future. First off, how do you see a biotopic world?

WM: Biotopia is a dream. Imagine a fully recyclable, biological world that combines all the properties we need: energy, oxygen, animals, shelter, light, flexibility, and changeability. There’s a huge list of properties we demand from our materials and surroundings. Biotopia philosophizes and speculates on the idea that if we create a material or combination of materials that can facilitate these needs precisely when desired by humans, nature, or animals, that will lead to a city you can’t yet imagine. I’m pursuing a few things with my Utopia concept. 

First, I’m trying to paint a sketch. The seven-minute accompanying film visitors see needs improvement, so it will progress over time, to the next step. Second, I’m creating a timeline sequence of materials, an interesting research project I’ll publish in a book. This timeline will detail all the properties we need, measured in time per second, for an average population density. That’s a crucial part. We calculate what we can do with current materials and what’s possible if certain material innovations occur. 

the pavilion is at the European Cultural Centre’s Giardini Marinaressa | photo by Jaap Heemskerk

WM (continued): There are three epochs in these steps, with the current epoch of innovation per technology, like improved 3D printing. The entire MVRDV group is part of this research. A lot is already happening; we have old materials and new materials emerging. We see this more and more, with layers of wood combined with glue, like glulam and CLT. We also have more types of sandwich constructions. Materials are becoming collaborative.  But what if this collaboration becomes more intense?

Materials could help provide light, others energy, and perhaps they could even move. That’s what this timeline aims to explore, too: what kind of collaborations are needed. We’ll depict these in the final timeline, the Blend, where everything is so interactive and active. It could lead to a completely different type of architecture or urbanism. Finally, we’re developing prototypes. These are diverse. One is 3D printing, aiming to move beyond current prefabrication methods. While prefab is fine, 3D printing offers more flexibility.

the structure turns reused beams into large arches, supported by metal ribs | photo by Jaap Heemskerk

DB: We were told that the sculptural installation at the Arsenale was supposed to be made of living organisms instead of 3D printed from polymer. 

WM: Yes, and I’m still completely open to it, but that’ll most likely be after the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025. There’s this dream of using 3D printing that involves two components, or three elements, that are not currently part of 3D printing. The first is what we call the material bank. Carlo Ratti adopted this idea, which involved a machine design where you have various materials. You feed these materials into the 3D printer, which could have multiple nozzles – one for concrete, one for stone, one for glass, one for steel, one for minerals, and one for wood. 

This allows you to select the desired material as you print, changing nozzles along the printing line. This is part of the design. The second component is the printer itself, which is a mixed printer and an ‘un-printer.’ This allows materials to be changed and adapted. To achieve this, an analyzer scans the surface, determines its composition, and then initiates a destruction operation. This process varies depending on the material. For example, 100% glass is easy to break and can be burned in two steps. 

when direct sunlight heats small air canisters, the air pressure inside increases | photo by Jaap Heemskerk

WM (continued): You remove the material, burn it, and the burner sends it to the material bank, from which it can be returned to the printer. This applies to all types of materials. So, we have the mixer, the printer, the ‘un-printer,’ and the material bank. The final component is the monitor, where you design and input data. This input isn’t just for design; it’s also a control mechanism. During printing, you need to monitor the process to prevent cracking. 

This can involve adding more water because the printing material is like a pudding that needs to be as fluid as possible for adhesion. Adding more water helps with the drying period, and you can also use other polymers. I can provide the diagram, but I should patent it first. This is the dream, so far. There’ll also be these robots that would be there to help construct these. I also have a sequence of mycelium tests that I want to do with the school in Jakarta.

the frame holds triangular panels fitted with perforated metal screens | photo by Jaap Heemskerk

DB: That was our follow-up question: the use of biomaterials. It seems that you’ve already used them in your recent projects. In line with this, you’ve also had a talk discussing computational design and algorithms in architecture and design. In what ways have you and MVRDV adopted them into your workflow?

WM: We have our specialties as an office and research group. I cannot do everything, so we need to collaborate extensively. I’m proficient in scripting; our office was one of the first to adopt it, and now our department excels in it. Our team is well-trained in computation and computer science, which I believe is a significant asset. We are skilled in space design, like any architect, and we are also strong in visualization.

DB: What do you think is our progress towards a biotopic world?

WM: There’s a wide range of research I’m trying to gather and collect. We have the example of 3D printing and mycelium. I’m also looking into the lignification of lignin from trees to accelerate this process in the farming industry. This would make the material more fluid, more like willow. I’m also incredibly interested in the electrical changeability of materials, like electrical rubber, for instance. In short, it’s a long process, but the beauty of it is fantastic.

view of the Biotopia installation at the Arsenale | all exhibition photos by Celestia Studio

DB: Are there other materials you want to work or experiment with? What’s next for you?

WM: I like the lignin and the washing-stone technology. This is a new technique we’re developing with Eindhoven. You add a layer of stone, which washes away, and then it assembles into soil. So, it’s essentially accelerating soil creation through erosion and its distribution. This helps plants grow, especially in shadowy areas. We’ve already applied this concept in Dubai for a new pavilion. 

Let’s go back to what you said before we started the interview. We’re sitting in a park, and you asked if I have a relationship with nature. My background already explains it, and I think our architecture is involved in that, meaning nature. I think we make it possible to reconnect people with nature. I like your question about what’s next because that’s the topic of the book we’re making. My lectures are always about what’s next, and they include slides. There are many subjects. I can dream about utopia as a kind of end result, if that’s possible. 

Then, I also have to study mobility. I need to consider when I move and what makes sense, so we’re doing a new study on velocity with different industries. We’re checking how the city would look with a certain kind of mobility: if I walk only, or if I have horses, or if I have three types of mobility. I also want to add properties to drones. It’s not about sending packages, which we can already do. We have a drone skycar in Shenzhen, and surveying is another use. But you can also construct. So I ask my collaborators and clients, ‘What can I do if I want to build a house in the sky?’ Just as a hypothesis. We’ll see.

the installation comes with an accompanying film documenting the building of Biotopia

the first part of the installation is the 3D printed sculpture made of polymer

Winy Maas and his think tank The Why Factory collaborate with visual artist Federico Díaz for the sculpture

the installations are on view in Venice until November 2025

project info:

architect: Winy Maas

firm: MVRDV | @mvrdv

Biotopia

lead architect: Winy Maas

think tank: The Why Factory

artist: Federico Díaz | @federico_diaz_hands

location: Arsenale

event: Venice Architecture Biennale 2025

dates: May 10th to November 23rd, 2025

photography: Celestia Studio, The Why Factory | @celestiastudio

SOMBRA Pavilion

lead architect: Jacob van Rijs

collaboration: Metadecor, Airshade Technologies, MVRDV, Alumet, Van Rossum Raadgevend Ingenieurs, Arup, Kersten Europe, the AMOLF Institute | @metadecor, @airshadetechnologies, @mvrdv, @alumet_nl, @vanrossumbv, @arupgroup 

exhibition: Time Space Existence

location: Giardini Marinaressa

address: Riva dei Sette Martiri, 30122 Venice, Italy

photography: Federico Vespignani, Jaap Heemskerk | @federico_vespignani

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OZRUH and ETH Zurich regenerate marble dust waste into 3D printed stone installation at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025. On view between May 10th and November 23rd, 2025, the project attempts to look into how architecture can address waste using modular structure and regenerative materials. It’s a two-part project for the design teams. The first one is the modular 3D printed marble dust, located at the Pavilion of Türkiye. The next, a documentary film in the Artificial section of the Arsenale curated by Carlo Ratti, where the robots are present, too.

A focus on the 3D printed marble dust: it’s called Anti-Ruin. OZRUH and ETH Zurich use the byproduct of the marble extraction processes at the Lasa Marmo Quarry in South Tyrol for the installation. The teams process the dust using a binder jetting method developed by Dr. Pietro Odaglia at Digital Building Technologies, ETH Zurich. It adopts a liquid binder to solidify the dust. The process, then, doesn’t need molds or formwork. As a result, the teams have two columns and a horizontal slab, all of which are modular. They form the ensemble of the 3D printed marble dust.

all images courtesy of OZRUH | all photos by Lloyd Lee

Stone installation at the Venice architecture biennale 2025 

One of the columns isn’t connected to the slab; the user can adjust or move it. The structural engineering team at formDP turns to computational tools to produce it like this. The software helped them calculate the center of gravity and internal load paths of the slab. The reason it is adjustable is because OZRUH and ETH Zurich want to explore the boundaries of architectural completeness at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025. Instead of viewing buildings as either finished or unfinished, Anti-Ruin lets each construction phase and piece function independently and be modular, a growing trend in recent architecture. The 3D printed marble dust installation forms part of the ‘Grounded / Yerebatan’ exhibition at the Pavilion of Türkiye, curated by Bilge Kalfa and Ceren Erdem, commissioned by İKSV.

Since the project integrates recycled materials from quarry waste, it can be disassembled and reused. The accompanying film at the Arsenale by Troy Edige and Beyza Mese documents the design, printing, and construction stages. It includes footage from ETH Zurich and the Lasa Marmo Quarry. The next stop of Anti-Ruin is at the World Design Congress at the Barbican in London, between September 9th and 10th, 2025. This phase applies the same system to alternative construction waste, including crushed brick and demolition dust. In this way, the 3D printed marble dust continues as an installation that focuses on recycling and making modular components for architecture.

3D printed installation at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 from marble dust and recycled components

the project, led by OZRUH in collaboration with ETH Zurich, looks into how architecture can address waste

it’s a two-part project, with the first one being the modular 3D printed marble dust

the installation by OZRUH and ETH Zurich is inside the Pavilion of Türkiye

OZRUH and ETH Zurich use the byproduct of the marble extraction processes at the Lasa Marmo Quarry

the teams process the dust using a binder jetting method

the process doesn’t need molds or formwork to function or be produced

detailed view of Anti-Ruin

there’s an accompanying documentary film in the Artificial section of the Arsenale

the movie documents the teams’ process

project info:

name: Anti-Ruin

design: OZRUH | @ozruh_official

institution: ETH Zurich | @ethzurich

engineering: formDP | @form_dp

photography: Lloyd Lee

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: matthew burgos | designboom

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Lagos-based architecture practice Oshinowo Studio brings ‘Alternative Urbanism: self-organising markets of Lagos‘ to the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, spotlighting three of the city’s most dynamic informal markets—Ladipo, Computer Village, and Katangua. Invited by curator Carlo Ratti to respond to his circular economy manifesto, the studio explores how these systems repurpose waste from the global north into valuable goods, offering a powerful model of embedded circularity. ‘These markets don’t work just as places of commerce and exchange,’ notes founder Tosin Oshinowo in an exclusive interview with designboom. ‘What is fascinating is the factory-like process that occurs when a source material is re-appropriated and adapted through different sectors in these markets,’ she tells us. Through immersive film, photography, data visualisations, and recycled denim maps crafted in Katangua, the exhibition reframes Lagos’s markets as complex infrastructures of ingenuity, shaped by scarcity and sustained by collective intelligence.

Rejecting voyeuristic representations of African spaces, the installation at the Arsenale avoids still images of deprivation and instead offers a technical view into the working mechanics of these markets. ‘It was important that the narrative be optimistic; after all, I live and work in Lagos,’ Oshinowo says. ‘I do not see what happens here as backwards or deprived; I see this as fascinating, innovative, and the other extreme of global capitalism,’ she adds. With her team’s mapping, video documentation, and textile production done within Katangua, the pavilion elevates local material knowledge to an international stage. In doing so, it delivers a clear message to Biennale visitors.‘The biggest lesson and shift in perspective I hope to share and inspire with this global audience is that we all can do more with less,’ Tosin Oshinowo suggests.

Alternative Urbanism: self-organising markets of Lagos at the Arsenale | image by Paul Raftery

Oshinowo Studio offers a blueprint for adaptive urban futures

Ladipo Market deals in second-hand car parts; Computer Village in used electronics; and Katangua in recycled fashion. While their contents differ, their shared value lies in how they extend the life of consumer goods through a communal network of reuse, repair, and resale. ‘These specialist markets emerge across the city in white and brown-fill sites, residential zones, and defunct industrial parks,’ Tosin Oshinowo shares with designboom. ‘Through a collective intelligence, the city operates at a sophisticated level outside of orthodox methodologies and functions at scale without the expected industrialized infrastructure.’ Her exhibition doesn’t romanticize the struggle but rather reframes Lagos’s informal urban systems as prototypes for sustainable cities—systems built from adaptation, making them increasingly relevant in a time of global resource scarcity.

As Oshinowo explains, these spaces represent ‘a glimpse into an urban condition without imperialism, colonialism, and modernism imposed on the continent.’ Far from being symbols of deprivation, the markets are framed as energetic ecosystems shaped by ‘bottom-up structures and soft-power systems.’ Located in areas ranging from residential zones to defunct industrial parks, each market illustrates the kind of grassroots adaptability often excluded from conventional urban planning. With Nigeria’s currency devalued by 700% since 2005 and most of the population living on under $2 a day, these markets respond with a resilience that blends necessity with aspiration. ‘The majority of Africa is urbanized but not industrialized,’ the Lagos-based architect explains. ‘This situation creates an urban condition that is alternative to conventional expectations of progress and development.’ Read on for our full interview with Tosin Oshinowo.

the studio explores how these systems repurpose waste | image by Paul Raftery

interview with Tosin Oshinowo

designboom (DB): Alternative Urbanism is a powerful title—how does it reflect your view of Lagos’s informal markets, and in what ways do they challenge conventional models of urban planning and sustainability?

Tosin Oshinowo (TO): The title is impactful; however, it simply states a reality that occurs as parallel development with the rest of the world. The majority of Africa is urbanized but not industrialized, and this situation creates an urban condition that is alternative to conventional expectations of progress and development. This research project uses the informal market as an entry point to understand this condition. Lagos is a heightened example of this condition because of its critical mass—the city has 0.3% of Nigeria’s surface area and 10% of its population, 26.4 million. With insufficient industrialized infrastructure, it is challenging to manage the city structurally. This density allows us to observe this condition in concentration. These markets happen when bottom-up structures and soft-power systems come to the foreground.

Rem Koolhaas’ research in the late 1990s and early 2000s observed that the urban condition in Lagos defied orthodox planning methodologies. Here, I suggest that instead of defying these methodologies, what we observe in the city condition reverts to an evolution from tradition. It could be considered a glimpse into an urban condition without imperialism, colonialism, and modernism imposed on the continent. The informal African market is the most unadulterated urban artifact of our city’s developmental framework. It is the fabric of the commons, a shared space everyone contributes to and shares in its benefits. The markets operate in a capitalist model and outside of it. The markets have evolved from pre-colonial times to their present state in the post-colonial African city. Holding more than just places of commerce and exchange, but also of divine importance. In Yorùbá culture from southwest Nigeria, the market holds divine significance in mythology as it is seen as the point of final departure for the soul from the earth (ilé) as it rightfully returns to the heavens (òrun).

recycled denim maps crafted in Katangua | image by Paul Raftery

DB: Carlo Ratti’s circular economy manifesto set the tone for this year’s Biennale. How did it resonate with your existing observations of Lagos, and what discoveries emerged from your research into these self-organizing markets?

TO: When I first read Carlo Ratti’s manifesto, I was excited that this research resonated with the theme and perfect timing. There is nothing more euphoric than realizing that you are part of a change movement. Circularity has been a long-standing practice in regions that deal with austerity. It is encouraging that there is a growing understanding globally that we all need to embody this methodology. When I started the research on the markets, it was initially out of an interest to understand how global south cities function at scale with inadequate infrastructure.

As I developed this narrative, I observed how sophisticated the system of markets and circularity is embedded into commerce and city life. I observed that due to Nigeria’s challenged economic condition and the reality of desires to live in modernity, capital-intensive consumer products are outside of the immediate reach of the average Nigerian consumer, with the Nigerian Naira devalued by 700% since 2005. These markets don’t work just as places of commerce and exchange. Several specialist markets sell second-hand products considered redundant from the global north. What is fascinating is the factory-like process that occurs when a source material is re-appropriated and adapted through different sectors in these markets. These markets effectively take waste from the global north and extend product life while producing less carbon.

the exhibition reframes Lagos’s markets as complex infrastructures of ingenuity | image by Andrea Avezzù

DB: Ladipo, Computer Village, and Katangua each represent a different kind of circular ingenuity. Why these three, and what do they collectively reveal about resilience and resourcefulness in urban Nigeria?

TO: So far, the research has documented 80+ specialist markets, as the convergence of like-for-like across the city’s urban fabric has been fascinating. I selected these three markets for the exhibition because their content deals with circularity. Like all markets, they deal with consumer goods, but these three represent staples of modernity. And the opportunity for people in these regions to afford capital-intensive consumer goods like cars, electronics, and clothes. Where does the hyperconsumerist global north dispose of its waste? Today, two-thirds of Nigerians live on less than $2 a day. These conditions create the fertile ground to harbor this kind of circularity not seen before structural adjustment programs imposed on the global south from the mid-1980s and early 1990s.

the installation offers a technical view into the working mechanics of these markets | image by Andrea Avezzù

DB: Your pavilion merges data, video, and recycled textiles to evoke the atmosphere of the markets. How did you navigate the challenge of capturing their energy and complexity within the formal setting of the Arsenale?

TO: It was challenging, particularly because I was mindful not to share this as a narrative of deprivation, which can easily come across by using still images from Africa. It was important that the narrative be optimistic; after all, I live and work in Lagos. I do not see what happens here as backwards or deprived; I see this as fascinating, innovative, and the other extreme of global capitalism.

The essence of the immersive film of the market captured a narrative of intense activity and optimism. It was a great privilege for the team to have access to film and photograph these spaces, and we do not take for granted the immense trust we have been given. It was also important that this did not become just an immersive film; we wanted to ensure that we showed a technical prowess to document the urban condition of these markets, which we showed through a series of mappings taken of each market and its surrounding urban fabric. The medium we used to show these was heat-transfer graphics placed in recycled denim patchwork, all produced in the Katangua market. Coupled with pause moments captured through photography, it created a visual language that was intriguing and enigmatic in its context.

immersive film, photography and data visualisations shape the exhibition | image by Paul Raftery

DB: The notion of ‘communal intelligence’ underpins your curatorial narrative. How do these markets embody that idea, and what lessons might formal design systems draw from it?

TO: The specialist markets in Lagos are informal; the state does not plan them, and they have emerged due to specific conducive political, social, and economic conditions. These markets as individual nodes have clear governing and management structures. Still, observing from the macro level, it’s fascinating to see that through a collective intelligence, the city operates at a sophisticated level outside of orthodox methodologies and functions at scale without the expected industrialized infrastructure. It is outside of conventional ways of thinking about the modern city, which tends to be the top-down result of the collective few. These specialist markets emerge across the city in white and brown-fill sites, residential zones, and defunct industrial parks. These markets resonate with the theme of communal intelligence, highlighting the system that speaks to an alternative urbanism, which contributes sparingly to our global carbon challenge in their operation and an optimistic conversation on circularity.

Katangua Market overview | image by Andrew Esiebo

DB: With a global audience in Venice, what shifts in perception about African cities—especially Lagos—do you hope this exhibition might provoke or inspire?

TO: The world can learn a lot from African cities. This region, which is the least industrialized yet urbanized, contributes the least to global carbon emissions while suffering some of the most severe damage. The biggest lesson and shift in perspective I hope to share and inspire with this global audience is that we all can do more with less.

market stall at Computer Village | image by Nengi Nelson

project info:

name: Alternative Urbanism: self-organising markets of Lagos

architect – curator: Lagos-based | @oshinowo.studio

founder & lead curator: Tosin Oshinowo | @tosin.oshinowo

location: Arsenale, Venice, Italy

program: Venice Architecture Biennale | @labiennale

dates: May 10th — November 23rd, 2025

photographers: Paul Raftery | @paulrafterystudio, Andrea Avezzù | @ave_zz, Andrew Esiebo | @andrewesiebo, Nengi Nelson | @nenginelson1, Taran Wilkhu | @taranwilkhu, Amanda Iheme | @amandaiheme, Olarenwaju Ali | @olanrewaju_v

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Qatar’s national participation at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale maps a cultural and architectural history of traditions of welcome, gathering, and collective care across the MENASA region, split across two sites across the city. Titled Beyti Beytak. My Home is Your Home. La mia casa è la tua casa, its first expression is a temporary pavilion in the Giardini by Yasmeen Lari (read our interview with the Pakistani architect here), while the other is a major archival exhibition inside the Palazzo Franchetti. In the latter, curators Aurélien Lemonier and Sean Anderson treat the metaphor of hospitality as a design principle that has shaped the built environment across geographies and generations — from homes, mosques, and schools to museums, gardens, and even entire cities. Doing so, they delve into some of the greatest, and emerging, profiles that have illustrated this across countries such as Palestine, Pakistan, India, Morocco, Egypt, Iraq, Qatar, and beyond. The show presents drawings, models, photos, and more from more than 30 architects and collectives, spanning from Hassan Fathy and Balkrishna Doshi to younger voices like Sumaya Dabbagh, Abeer Seikaly, and Rizvi Hassan.

Throughout the rooms of the historic Palazzo, the show is loosely organized into seven sections — each one pointing to a different typology of collective life, sketching a constellation of projects shaped by climate, community, and care. Here, the oasis is imagined as a generative metaphor for exchange and encounter, while social housing projects from Lahore, Mumbai, and New Gourna offer intimate insights into how the home can be shared, extended, and adapted in various socio-political climates. Mosques and museums, too, are included as civic anchors that embed public life with rituals of togetherness and reflection. The exhibition is produced by Qatar Museums and organized by the forthcoming Art Mill Museum.

on view at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale | image by by Giuseppe Miotto — Marco Cappelletti Studio

qatar museums at venice architecture biennale

The exhibition opens with Reimagining the Oasis, illustrating it as a simple water source in a landscape, a large farm, or even a city, and looking at projects from Iran, Iraq, and North Africa, and more. The space explores the role of the oasis in transmitting cultures over time, examining how water and vegetation have historically generated life, and as an extension, public space.

Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy, for instance, in the 1900s continued to examine rural typologies along the waters, and how they could be alleviated for sustainable, collective living. More recently, Jordanian architect Abeer Sekaily has taken inspiration from the craftsmanship behind the tents of nomadic Bedouin communities to create her domed Weaving a Home tent which further questions the social implications of creating shelters for displaced communities.

Beyti Beytak. My Home is Your Home. La mia casa è la tua casa | image by Giuseppe Miotto — Marco Cappelletti Studio

CIVIC LIFE AS A CONTINUUM across community centers and mosques

Community centers are positioned in the exhibition as sites where architecture directly responds to the needs and practices of the people who use it. Whether improvised on woven mats or embedded in the civic fabric of informal settlements, these projects position design as an extension of shared life rather than a formal imposition. In Iran, DAAZ Office’s Jadgal Elementary School was developed through participatory processes to reflect indigenous spatial customs while supporting education as a tool for economic and cultural resilience. In Cairo, Ahmed Hossam Saafan’s Dawar El Ezba Cultural Center provides a kitchen, workshop, and gathering space within one of the city’s largest informal neighborhoods, designed with and for a marginalized community.

Ahead, the exhibition looks closer into the role of the mosque in particular as both a sacred space and an architectural form crucial to welcoming a wide spectrum of human activity. From Marina Tabassum’s contemporary Bait ur Rouf Mosque in Bangladesh to Sumaya Dabbagh’s Mosque of Mohamed Abdulkhaliq Gargash in the UAE, this part of Beyti Beytak looks at the work of three leading women architects and explores how mosques often act as cooling centres, learning hubs, and places of shelter. Their openness, in plan and in social role, is central to the exhibition’s reading of architecture as hospitable infrastructure.

Hassan Fathy, in the 1900s, continued to examine rural typologies along oases | image by Giuseppe Miotto — Marco Cappelletti Studio

the making of domestic architecture

In City Houses and Social Housing, we encounter a shifting idea of domestic space, turning toward a more porous environment shaped by rituals and collective gathering. For communities in the MENASA region, the architecture of the home has been organized around cultural and spatial features such as courtyards and terraces that have allowed a degree of both connectivity and privacy. Works on view also consider how domestic spaces might have seeped into the street in the context of the bustling contemporary metropolis, becoming a part of the fabric of the city itself. In this section, drawings of plans outline Hassan Fathy’s New Gourna Village in Egypt, while contemporary examples from Iraq and India show how homes are often co-produced and adapted over time.

celebrating mosque architecture by three women architects | image by Giuseppe Miotto — Marco Cappelletti Studio

the art of gardens in islamic and secular traditions

Building on this, the Art of Gardens section moves inward to explore verdant landscapes as crucial sites of memory and care in today’s cultural spaces, while celebrating their role in visual practices. Projects from India to Qatar trace how gardens operate as sensory and spatial interfaces between built form and natural systems, in both religious and secular contexts. In Islamic traditions, the garden is a metaphor for paradise, symbolically tied to the water resources they hold. But they also work as a cooling device, a place of retreat, and a tool for ecological thinking.

Through carefully selected drawings and fieldwork, the section shows how landscape design carries emotional, spiritual, and architectural weight across institutions in public spaces across the world. One such example is the Chihilsitoon Garden, Kabul’s largest historic public garden which was revitalized after destruction in the war of 1979-80, becoming a crucial shared space for the public and a sustainer of life and livelihoods.

the exhibition is produced by Qatar Museums | image by Giuseppe Miotto — Marco Cappelletti Studio

image by Giuseppe Miotto — Marco Cappelletti Studio

Sameep Padora, ‘Memories of Landscape’, Hampi Art Lab | image by Giuseppe Miotto — Marco Cappelletti Studio

Ajmal Maiwandi, Chihilston Garden and Palace Rehabilitation, Kabul, 2015–2018 | image by Simon Norfolk

Ahmed Hossam Saafan, Dawar El Ezba Cultural Center, Cairo, 2019 | image © Ahmed Hossam Saafan

DAAZ Office, Jadgal Elementary School, 2017–2020 | image courtesy DAAZ, by Deed Studio

Sumaya Dabbagh, Mleiha Archaeological Center, 2016 | image courtesy Dabbagh Architects, by Gerry O’Leary, Rami Mansour

project info:

name: Beyti Beytak. My Home is Your Home. La mia casa è la tua casa

curator: Aurélien Lemonier, Sean Anderson

organizer: Qatar Museums | @qatar_museums, Art Mill Museum

location: Palazzo Franchetti, Venice, Italy

program: Venice Architecture Biennale | @labiennale

dates: May 10th — November 23rd, 2025

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